Men's Team

KDB back with a bang and Garcia shows his class

CELEBRATION TIME: Kevin De Bruyne and his colleagues are all smiles after his stunning strike

It was another memorable Carabao Cup night for Manchester City on Tuesday. Club journalist Rob Pollard has taken a look back at the shoot-out win over Leicester.

1Welcome back, De Bruyne

We shouldn’t need reminding of Kevin De Bruyne’s quality but after six weeks on the sidelines, the nuances of his game may have faded from memory somewhat.

After the weekend cameo in the win over Everton, it was a pleasure to see him start. He delivered a 70-minute masterclass at the King Power Stadium, opening the scoring with a brilliant 20-yard drive before showcasing his technical quality and passing ability.

2Young guns

Muric, 20, produced two saves in the shoot-out to help seal City’s passage into the semi-finals. His reward? A kiss on the cheek from Pep Guardiola!

And 17-year-old Garcia, making his senior debut, was outstanding. Not only did he look solid defensively, he was also incredibly comfortable on the ball. As has become abundantly clear throughout Guardiola’s management career, that is a pre-requisite for any centre-half who wants to play regularly for him.

The average age of the starting XI at Leicester was 23; a glimpse into the future and the latest evidence of our strength in depth.

3Foden growing in stature

With Muric, Garcia and De Bruyne grabbing the majority of headlines, the performance of Phil Foden has gone somewhat under the radar.

He was excellent, particularly in the first half where he controlled the tempo and was the man kick-starting most of our best moves. A great range of passing and an ability to see the game clearly, he has everything needed to keep progressing.